


Define: Family

by Living_Free



Series: Slip and Slide [36]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Batfamily, CW: Past Child Abuse, Crack, Fluff, Gen, Healing, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Protectiveness, best sibs cass and tim, bruce and his constipation: a saga, dick being overcome by squee, melodramatic damian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 12:48:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18739348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Living_Free/pseuds/Living_Free
Summary: Cass and Tim are kept awake by the past.Tim's nighties make Bruce aghast.Dick is an entity of pure fluff,and Jason continues to pretend that he is very gruff.





	Define: Family

  
Cass was no stranger to a disturbed night's sleep. It was practically a prerequisite to being a Bat. Tonight, however, was a particularly turbulent night. She had dreamt of David Cain again - her biological father - and of his many 'lessons'. A phantom gunshort jarred her from her sleep, and she bolted upright, breathing raggedly.

"Bitch," she muttered sourly, shaking her fist tiredly at the memory of David Cain. Getting out of bed, she padded downstairs for a glass of water.

She paused. Smiled.

Gelato, she decided mischieviously. No Alfie awake at this hour to be judgemental, after all. "Clever," she praised her own ingenuity, and slid downstairs for her frozen treat. She oozed into the kitchen, only to find that she was not alone.

"Tim."

Tim squeaked, turning around with a swish of his violet sliky, lacy, slip nightgown that barely brushed his knees. His hands shot up to cover his non-existent breasts, before realizing, ha ha no chest udders for Timmy, aw yiss, he could sleep on his stomach all he wanted without getting flatbread titties the next morning.

Cass tilted her head, taking her little brother's image in. He looked like a doll, she thought. Not that she had ever had any. Tiny, strange dolly with bunny slippers. Cass didn't like bunny slippers, she didn't trust bunnies. She extended her foot and stepped on the nearest bunny head.

Tim squealed and withdrew his foot. "Stop attacking Mr. Bun Bun," he pouted. "He's done nothing to you."

"I don't trust," Cass said, nudging Tim's softly clad foot. "Why are you awake?"

Tim sniffed and tried to avoid her eyes. "Bad dream?" Cass asked gently. More fidgeting. "Sex dream," she deduced. Tim squeaked.

"Not so loud," Tim hissed. "Bruce will Sense It."

Cass sniggered. Bruce had an uncanny sense of when Tim was up to his horniness.

"Why're you awake?" Tim asked.

"Neurological disturbance," Cass admitted. "Want gelato."

"What flavour?" Tim asked nonchalantly.

"Amuse me," Cass replied. Tim came back with two bowls of gelato, one raspberry flavoured and the other coffee flavoured.

"What happened?" Tim asked, as he trailed behind Cass to the living room. "Can I help?"

"No," Cass said brusquely. Then, "David Cain," she admitted.

"That slut," Tim nodded sagely.

Cass said a word that Jason had taught her that led to Tim falling out of his chair in shock. He looked up a her with a new respect in his eyes and high-fived her. Cass smiled. No one understood her like Tim did.

"You never have...bad dreams?" Cass asked. "About...your parents?"

Tim shrugged. "Not really. It's being awake that does it. I didn't have trauma in that way, because I thought that my parents were just...imperfect. It wasn't hugs and smiles, but i wasn't bullets and hot knives either," he said.

"Some say worse," Cass countered.

Tim sighed. "It's like...they had a kid because they were supposed to, y'know? But then they didn't know what to do afterwards. They were kind of weird about it, but they tried in their own messed up way.

"I remember that mom used to rehearse her boardroom speeches in front of my crib. I was a toddler, and she was all passionate, and angry, and beautiful - glowing with the power of her confidence and surety." Tim smiled wistfully. "One day, I said, 'Mommy, I want to be a CEO just like you'. And she said, 'Today Drake Enterprises. Tomorrow, the world!' Then she evil laughed, I don't know why."

"She would be proud, then," Cass said, stroking Tim's hair.

"I tried so hard to be like her," Tim said, his voice wobbling just the barest amount. "I used to try to wear her makeup and put on her high heels, so that I could look like her - powerful and beautiful. No one says it, but now, I look exactly like her."

Cass smiled. "You look very beautiful."

Tim smiled in a watery manner. "Thanks," he said quietly.

Cass hummed, relaxing into the chair. They sat in silence, listening to the rain beat against the gothic windows of the manor. "He didn't hit me," Cass said. "Not from anger."

Tim snorted. "He shot you. He hurt you." Then, "I fucking hate him."

Cass laughed. "He said... I was going to be the best. His...blood."

"Blood is worthless," Tim spat. "I'm sorry that it took me so long to figure that out. I held back from Bruce for so long, thinking that I was supposed to mourn my parents forever. That after they died, I could show them that I was a good fucking son. My dad didn't even think to try with me until he saw that he was going to lose me to Bruce." He dashed the tears from his eyes. "Dick hugged me first. He snuggled me by the fire and kissed my head and told me that he loved me. I cried all over him, it was pathetic."

Cass slapped him lightly.

"Hey!"

"Not pathetic," she corrected him. "Emotion is not correct or incorrect. Emotion is..." she trailed off. "Emotion is. We feel it. It is alright."

"So do you feel angry?"

"All the time," Cass said. "But then, I see Bruce. And he makes me feel happy."

"How so?"

"When he says good morning. When he comes to my recitals. When he chases Steph out. When he tells me to eat more protein. When he goes to the mall...sees something and buys it...because he thinks I will look cute." Cass smiled. "Bruce is awesome."

"Bruce never buys me cute things," Tim grumbled.

"Because you are already cute."

Tim smiled happily and leaned back, rubbing his little tummy that was now incubating his bowl of gelato. "Yeah, I am." Tim hummed happily. "Hey Cass?"

"Yeah."

"How did Bruce adopt you?"

"With paper."

Tim rolled his eyes. "I mean, how did he ask? With me, he was all shy, and like 'you don't have to' and 'I'm not replacing your dad' and kind of threw the paper at me and ran. He hid behind the corner and watched to see if I'd sign or not."

"Did you?"

"Yeah, in a hot second," Tim laughed. "Batman was adopting me and spying on me with these big, googly, worried eyes from behind the wall. It was...sweet."

Cass grinned. "Bruce is adorable." She took a second to imagine him with the googly eyes that Tim had described. "He told me...he wanted to adopt me. Then he had to explain what 'adopt' meant."

"Did you say yes?"

Cass nodded. "Eventually. I ask Stephanie first...what 'adopt' meant."

"Then?"

"I run back. I tell Bruce yes. He cries and cries and cries with snot. I wipe delicate tear in feminine fashion."

Tim chuckled. "That's Bruce, alright." He sighed. "We got lucky didn't we?"

"Bruce too," Cas snorted. "Lucky. Five times."

Tim smiled, then purred as Cass threaded her fingers through his hair to massage the sweet spot on his scalp. "Kitty," Cass cooed. "Timmy Kitten." She continued massaging Tim's head until he slumped against her, fast asleep. "Goodnight Timmy," she whispered, pressing a light kiss to his cheek, and was rewarded by a sweet snuffle into her shoulder.

Cass decided to stay up for a while longer, calming her mind to the sound of the rain now lashing against the window. Suddenly, Tim started to kick in his sleep. Even as she went to soothe him, Tim delievered a final kick to the air, against some imaginary foe, and grumbled, "Slut."

Cass smiled and fell asleep, content in the knowledge that even in her dreams, Timmy was fighting David Cain, all so that she would not have to.

***

Dick found the pair asleep in the living room the next morning, Tim curled up against Cass, his little silk chemise having ridden up in his sleep, exposing his pale thigh. Cass was sleeping in a protective lump over Tim, a lioness protecting her cub.

"Cuuuuute!" Dick squealed quietly, and used the opportunity to take several pictures before running to wake the rest of his family, because they couldn't miss seeing this.

With an irritable posse of Waynes following him, Dick led the way and pointed his sleeping siblings out. Jason's irritation melted away at the sight, and he let a small smile replace his glower. That really was fucking cute.

Bruce, however, stayed vexed, until he gently covered Tim's exposed thigh by gently pulling the nightgown down. Tim stirred, and blinked awake, looking blearily at Bruce.

"Daddy?"

Dick nearly exploded from the squee. Jason retched exaggeratedly, making sure to mime it over Damian.

"Cease making boorish noises, Todd!" Damian hissed, cutting a completely non-threatening and utterly adorable figure in his jammies.

  
"Make me, you little hobgoblin."

"What did you call me!"

Meanwhile, Tim had migrated sleepily into Bruce's arms. "Did you know" Tim hummed sleepily, "that Cass snores?"

"I didn't," Bruce admitted.

"Yeah. Little puffs of air, like a dragon." Tim yawned in a kawaii manner and allowed Bruce to pick him up and place him on the sofa.

"Go back to sleep, Tim," Bruce said softly.

"Broooose," Tim whined, making a grabby little gesture with his hands. Bruce leaned in close to listen to his son. Instead, Tim shocked everyone by leaning up and placing the tiniest little kissy on Bruce's cheek, before going back to sleep.

It was too much for poor Dick, causing him to emit one last "squee!" and faint away from the sheer magnitude of the cuteness he had just witnessed. Jason, who had the displeasure of catching him, immediately flopped Dick onto Damian, who proceeded to be flattened like an evil little tortilla.

"Argh! And so I do perish!" Damian wailed.

Dick roused himself at Damian's distress. "Oh no, poor Dami, did I squish you? Here, let me make it better-"

What proceeded was a truly disgusting hug fest that Damian revelled in, and gave Jason constipation. "Barf," Jason said emphatically. "Imma get me some flaxseed. You want some, Bruce?"

"My bowels are healthy," Bruce sniffed, lying through his teeth.

Dick squeaked as the lie assaulted his pure sensebilities, and he looked at Bruce reproachfully. "You're getting a full flax bowl for breakfast," he informed Bruce.

Bruce, however, was busy staring at Tim, who was adorably snuffling into the sofa cushions. Carefully, he petted Tim's ear. His ears were always disproportionately large, and Bruce thought that it was endearing.

"Sleep well, Tim," Bruce whispered, only to turn around and see Dick, Damian, and Jason making a game out of prodding a sleeping Cass, who was swatting ineffectually at them.

"Let your sister sleep," Bruce growled at his ill behaved sons. "You go back to sleep, honey," Bruce cooed at Cass, "don't you let your horrible gremlin brothers bother you."

"Goodnight, Daddy," Cass mumbled, and curled in on herself like a cat. Bruce beamed at his two children, sleeping like the pure, lovely angels that they were, no thanks to Stepahnie or Kon-El, and felt a bright happiness come over him.

His kids were happy.

He turned around to the slightly nauseating sight of Dick carrying Damian, who was in turn carrying Terry, who was carrying his red hood plushie. They all smiled at him - sans the plushie, that would have been wierd.

And maybe haunted.

They proceeed to waddle into the kitchen, leaving Bruce to follow. Just as Bruce was about to leave, he felt a hand tug at his pant leg. He looked down to see Cass blinking sleepily up at him.

"Bruce?"

"Yes, Cass?"

"Tell Tim that he looks pretty."

Cass fell asleep again, leaving Bruce to contemplate her words.

***

When Tim finally awoke, it was time for his weekly date with Kon-El, who was coming over to take Tim dress shopping for the Annual LexCrop Gala. As the future CEOs of LexCorp, Kon and Tim had to look as regal as possible.

Tim came sashaying back home looking thoroughly kissed and bearing a shopping bag with his latest gown - a form fitting, sequined, one shouldered gown that bled from black to red. He put it on and gave his family an impromptu fashion show.

Bruce watched his son bouncing around in transports of glee, dancing in his high heels. Bruce caught Cass' eye and looked back at Tim, who had stopped in front of him and was gleaming as though he had swallowed the sun.

"Um. Tim."

"Yes, B?"  
"..."

"..."

"You look very pretty, son."

The look on Tim's face was worth it.

"Thanks, Bruce!" Tim squealed, as he flounced away, with Damian following behind him and telling him to 'comport yourself more regally, Drake, royalty does not bounce like several rabbits on cocaine'.

Cass tapped Bruce's nose. "Good job," she said.

"He looks like Janet," Bruce said, to Cass' surprise. "And I didn't very much like the woman. She was cold and neglectful towards Tim. Jack too. I hated him. He never did right by Tim."

"Yes," Cass agreed. "Pushed Tim to succeed, too."

"Indirectly," Bruce countered. "They made sure he knew that they had expectations. Tim...struggled." Bruce sighed. "I saw Tim ever since he was a baby, you know. I was with Janet at a meeting when she went into labour. I had to do an emergency delivery, since she dilated in like, a nanosecond, and I had a medical degree. He shot out straight into my hands. I held him first, and I loved him first."

"When Master Timothy was a toddler, I found him in the Drake Manor yard," Alfred chimed in, looking up from his dusting. "When I asked him what he was doing, he said that he was trying to talk to the ants, but that they kept running away from him.

"I asked him why he did not talk to people, and he said that 'Mummy talks to me about the merger sometimes'." Alfred sighed. "After that, at every gala, I made sure that young Master Tim could hide under my dessert cart, and have as many puddings as he wanted."

"Tim is more like Janet than I like to admit," Bruce said. "But...maybe he has the best parts of her."

"And you," Cass said. "Tim is your son. More than theirs."

Bruce smiled. "You think?"

"Definitely," Cass said. "You stupid sometimes."

Bruce blushed. "I don't want to replace his birth parents. He deserves to have good memories of them."

"He has more of you," Cass said. "Think about that." Cass stood up to walk away like a boss, then stopped. Turned. "Dummy."

Bruce watched her continue to walk with a smile on his face.

***

When Kon cam to pick Tim up for the Lexcorp gala, he had to spend ten terrifying minutes trying to do smalltalk with Bruce, who had made it a point to answer the door.

When Tim walked down the stairs, resplendent in his gown and matching heels, Kon made to stand up in awe, but was pushed unceremoniously back into the sofa. Bruce walked forward and saw his son - so lovely, so smart, so sly and ruthless.

He really was Bruce's son.

"You look beautiful, Tim," Bruce said, his voice choked. "Just like your daddy."

Tim giggled. "You've never worn a dress, Bruce."

"Never speak in absolutes, son," Bruce said. "After all, I, too, went to college."

Tim laughed, a full belly laugh that sometimes Janet would do whenever she closed a deal. Bruce smiled. On Tim, it was a good laugh.

"Have fun," he said. "But not too much fun," he added quickly.

As Tim and Kon flew off into the night, Bruce sighed. There went his baby boy, happy and full of life. And at the end of the night, he would come home to Wayne Manor, to his family.

To his father.

***  
***

TIMMY'S FASHION BLOG

Ladies and germs, I went full ham on this fic with the dresses, I love these so much, I wan ten of them.

[Timmy's gala gown](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C73ZRDC/ref=twister_B01MCTKR5C)

[Timmy's slaying heels](https://www.amazon.com/MERUMOTE-Stiletto-Platform-Red-Black-Leather/dp/B01C7EK114/ref=sr_1_20_sspa?crid=78F0YX7BZVS4&keywords=red+high+heels+for+women&qid=1557118328&s=gateway&sprefix=red+high%2Caps%2C347&sr=8-20-spons&psc=1)

[Timmy's tiny nightgown](https://www.amazon.com/BellisMira-Womens-Chemise-Nightgown-Sleepwear/dp/B079N74YHV/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=silk+chemise+nightgown+violet&qid=1557160064&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1)


End file.
